Chapter 3 – Azure Dragon Clan

Book 17, Indigo Prefecture – Chapter 3, Azure Dragon Clan According to what Linley had learned on the way, as well as what he had heard from Beirut, as Linley saw it, the Four Divine Beasts clan was extremely powerful. At Miluo Island, after seeing the many scryer recordings, he had mentioned to Castle Master Mosi the fact that he was headed for Indigo Prefecture, and Mosi had discussed the Four Divine Beasts clan. From what Mosi had said, it seemed as though the Four Divine Beasts clan had fallen on hard times. But even despite that, it should still be almost comparable to the Bagshaw clan. “The Bagshaw clan, at Miluo Island, is in complete control. No one dares offend them! Despite countless years having passed, Miluo Island’s fame remains widespread. There’s no way something like this could happen at Miluo Island, where those who serve the Bagshaw clan will be killed!” Linley really couldn’t believe it. The Indigo Prefecture could be said to be the main headquarters for the Four Divine Beasts clan. How could something like this happen within the borders of the mighty Four Divine Beasts clan? How could a truly powerful clan allow something like this to happen? Anyone who thought about it for even a moment would understand. If a truly powerful clan encountered something like this, they would definitely eradicate the entire ‘Boleyn clan’, killing them as a warning sign to frighten others! “The situation doesn’t make sense.” Linley narrowed his eyes. The joy he had felt upon arriving at his clan’s territory instantly evaporated, and Linley began to worry. It seemed as the situation the Four Divine Beasts clan was in wasn’t what he had thought it would be. In the metallic lifeform, Tarosse, Bebe, Delia, and the others were all mystified by what they had just seen. Tarosse said with a solemn look, “Linley, it seems as though the Four Divine Beasts clan doesn’t have much power within Indigo Prefecture.” When Linley had invited Tarosse and the others to Indigo Prefecture, he had said that that within the Indigo Prefecture, given the strength and influence of the Four Divine Beasts clan, they shouldn’t encounter any more dangers. But now, it seemed… “I don’t understand either.” Linley’s face was solemn. After all, he had never gone to the Four Divine Beasts clan before. All he knew, he gained from outside sources of information. “I’m sorry. It seems as though I’ve caused everyone to enter a dangerous situation.” Linley couldn’t help but say towards Olivier, Tarosse, and the others. When he had invited them to come with him, he had wanted for all of them from the Yulan continent to be together and that there wouldn’t be much danger. As he saw it, there shouldn’t be any dangers in the main lair for his clan. But it seemed he was wrong! Dylin laughed. “Linley, don’t worry about it. No matter what happens, my life can be considered to belong to you. What have I to fear?” “Let’s go. Even if someone wants to kill us, first they have to have enough power to do so!” Tarosse said. Linley nodded. If the Four Divine Beasts clan was comparable to the Bagshaw clan, then, as an incredibly powerful force, there was no way they would simply be destroyed. As the saying goes, a camel which died of starvation is still larger than a horse. Mosi’s words implied that the weakened Four Divine Beasts clan was still comparable to the Bagshaw clan. But before its downfall? How could such an originally incomparably powerful clan possibly be completely destroyed? “Let’s go to Fansi City first.” Fansi City was a city in the eastern part of Indigo Prefecture, and was the first city which Linley’s group was heading towards in Indigo Prefecture. Fansi City was just like every other city in the Infernal Realm; it was very bustling! The streets were rowdy and filled with people everywhere. “Boss, where shall we go to find the location of the Four Divine Beasts clan?” Bebe asked, puzzled. The War God, O’Brien, laughed. “Any place works. For example, the Fiend Castle. We can just ask some people there. There are definitely people here in the Indigo Prefecture who know quite a bit regarding the exceedingly famous Four Divine Beasts clan.” Asking around at the Fiend Castle was indeed an excellent idea. “No rush. Let’s go to the Bloodridge Castle first!” Linley said. The Redbud Continent had Redbud Castles, while the Bloodridge Continent had Bloodridge Castles. The two were the same; they both purchased and sold large quantities of items. “Why are we going to the Bloodridge Castle?” Dylin asked. “Bebe, do you still remember how we had gone shopping for books that time in the Redbud Castle?” Linley turned to look at Bebe, who hurriedly nodded. “I remember. That time, we went to buy some books regarding the geography of the Infernal Realm.” “Right. Last time, we only went to investigate the general geography of the Infernal Realm, which is why in the books we bought, the information regarding each of the 108 Prefectures was very brief. But that time, however, we did see quite a few books which discussed each prefecture in detail.” There had been five or six centimeter thick books that discussed each prefecture. Those detailed books each focused on one prefecture, and naturally would discuss and point out some of the unique areas in a prefecture, as well as provide some very detailed information on some of the most powerful clans. Most likely, even some ultimate experts would be described within. Delia’s eyes lit up, and she nodded in agreement. “Buy one which goes into detail regarding the ‘Indigo Prefecture’. The Four Divine Beasts clan is very famous in Indigo Prefecture. It will definitely be described in detail, and the location will be clearly mentioned as well.” Linley laughed and nodded. If they asked others, others might point them to a specific place which they didn’t even know was located where. After all, they had never had a detailed map of the Indigo Prefecture. They only knew the rough geography of the place. By buying a detailed book regarding the Indigo Prefecture, they would even get a clear understanding of the geographical information in the Indigo Prefecture. “Buying books? I’ve never gone book shopping in the Infernal Realm.” Tarosse laughed. “You normally lived on Miluo Island. Why would you need to buy books? You’d only go buy them when you needed them.” Linley said, then headed towards the Bloodridge Castle. The three castles in every single city were bustling with activity. Following the flow of people, Linley’s group quickly reached the Bloodridge Castle. At the gate to the Bloodridge Castle, there were Bloodridge Army soldiers standing guard. “Heh heh, I must say, the uniform of the Bloodridge Army is quite stylish. It’s much better than that of the Redbud Army and the Starmist Army.” Bebe said softly as he looked at the Bloodridge Army soldiers at the gates. Linley glanced at them. “The baleful aura it emanates is rather heavier than that of the Redbud Army and the Starmist Army.” “Let’s go.” As he spoke, Linley led the group into the first floor of the Bloodridge Castle. The way the Bloodridge Castle was organized was quite similar to the Redbud Castle. Linley’s group easily found the room which specialized in selling a large number of books. In the room, there were only three people, one of whom was the staff member. “What do you want to buy?” Seeing Linley’s group walk in, and that most were Highgods, the staff member immediately came to welcome them. “Which book has information regarding the location of the Four Divine Beasts clan?” Bebe was the first to say. But Linley said, “This place should have a detailed description of the entire Indigo Prefecture, right? Give me that book.” “We do.” The female staff member withdrew an enormous, black covered book that was two fingers thick, then walked over and handed it to Linley. “This one should be the book with the most complete introduction to the Indigo Prefecture.” Linley immediately accepted it and began to flip through it. This book, in its table of contents, was divided into ‘geography’, ‘dangerous areas’, ‘famous people’, ‘clans’…and so on and so forth. From the table of contents, Linley easily found the top ranked ‘Four Divine Beasts clan’. “Page 158!” Linley couldn’t help but grow excited. The first thing which drew Linley’s attention was… The Four Divine Beasts clan was actually the general term for four mighty clans of divine beasts. They were: The Azure Dragon clan: The Redding [Lei’ding] clan! The Vermilion Bird clan: The Nimo [Ne’mo] clan! The White Tiger clan: The Laius [Li’e’si] clan! The Black Tortoise clan: The Bowen [Bo’wen] clan! The Four Divine Beasts clan was led by the Azure Dragon clan, the Redding clan. The four great clans were joined together into one, and were spread throughout the Four Higher Planes… While reading the detailed information regarding the Four Divine Beasts clan, Linley couldn’t help but begin to sweat. The history of the Four Divine Beasts clan simply astonished Linley. So originally, the Four Divine Beasts clan wasn’t just limited to the Infernal Realm! “Divine Water Plane, Divine Earth Plane, Divine Fire Plane, Divine Wind Plane, and the Four Higher Planes of the Celestial Realm, Netherworld, Infernal Realm, Life Realm…they all have branches of the Four Divine Beasts clan!” Linley was completely thunderstruck. Based on the description within the book, the Four Divine Beasts clan was considered an extremely, terrifyingly powerful clan throughout the Four Higher Planes as well as the Seven Divine Planes. They were spread everywhere, but of course, in the Infernal Realm, Indigo Prefecture was a headquarters for the Four Divine Beasts clan. “They are so powerful?” Linley found it hard to believe. “Boss, lemme see.” Bebe, seeing the look on Linley’s face, couldn’t help but snatch the book over from Linley and begin to read it carefully as well. As he read, Bebe’s eyes began to grow round. “Wow, Boss, the Four Divine Beasts clan is really badass.” Delia leaned over to look as well. “They really are quite formidable.” Delia was stunned as well. “We can leave now. I now know where the Four Divine Beasts clan is located.” Linley couldn’t help but smile. The Four Divine Beasts clan was the root and foundation of his own Baruch clan, which could only be considered one of the many branches. Naturally, Linley was delighted at how powerful the main clan was. “Wait.” Linley suddenly frowned. If the Four Divine Beasts clan truly was so powerful, then why was it that when he came, he saw that member of the Boleyn clan, the one who could grow golden wings, be so arrogant and unbridled? “You are looking for the location of the Four Divine Beasts clan?” Suddenly, a clear voice rang out. Linley’s group turned to look. The speaker was that female staff member. The female staff member laughed and said, “If you want to just follow the information in the book to look for them, there’s no way you’ll find the Four Divine Beasts clan.” “Eh?” Linley was stunned. “Why not? Is the book fake?” Bebe immediately asked. The female staff member shook her head. “No, the descriptions in the book are real.” “If they are real, then why can’t we find them?” Bebe said. The female staff member laughed. “This book is in general circulation and for sale in every single city in the Infernal Realm. Because the Infernal Realm is too vast, just sending it out to each location will most likely take a thousand years.” Linley nodded. To send it throughout the Infernal Realm, it would indeed take upwards of a thousand years. “Because the shipping process alone takes so much time, the geographical information in the book will be re-evaluated and updated once every million years. This book is several hundred thousand years old, and it described what the situation was like for the Four Divine Beasts clan hundreds of thousands of years ago.” The female staff said. The Infernal Realm was vast and endless. A million years, in the ancient history of the Infernal Realm, really wasn’t much. “Are you saying…?” Linley began to understand. “Right.” The female staff member laughed. “If you asked others, they might not know, but since I’ve always lived in Indigo Prefecture, I’m quite familiar with the Four Divine Beasts clan. The Four Divine Beasts clan, roughly ten thousand years ago, underwent a huge change. The branches that had been located in the Divine Planes or the other Higher Planes all returned and regrouped here in the Indigo Prefecture of the Infernal Realm.” Linley now understood. Lord Beirut had not deceived him. The current Four Divine Beasts clan really was in Indigo Prefecture. Delia asked, puzzled, “What caused the Four Divine Beasts clan to summon and concentrate all of their branches here in the Indigo Prefecture?” Delia didn’t understand. “I’m not sure.” The female staff member said with a laugh. “That year, a large number of experts of the Four Divine Beasts clan returned, but when they did so, they shook the entire Indigo Prefecture, because when they returned, they brought countless battles with them!” “Countless battles?” Linley was stunned. “Right.” The female staff member nodded, then laughed. “But of course, I’m just a minor figure, and what I know is limited. All I know is that back then, the battles were quite fierce. Afterwards, the Four Divine Beasts clans that had been scattered throughout Indigo Prefecture all came together at one location.” “One location?” Linley still clearly remembered what that book he had read had said. As that book had described it, in the Four Divine Beasts clan, each of the four clans was located in one of four locations. “Right. The Four Divine Beasts clans are living quite close to each other now. The place they live is known as the Skyrite Mountains!” The female staff member said. Hearing this, Linley immediately thought back to when he had first read the book giving a general introduction to the geographical features of the Infernal Realm, and the information it had regarding the Skyrite Mountains. The Skyrite Mountains were a very famous area within the Indigo Prefecture. It could, in fact, be described as the mountain range which symbolized the Indigo Prefecture.